Baby You Belong
by Demonwolf
Summary: The Joker finds a youn girl and, for reasons best known to himself, takes her in. Kara belongs to him now.
1. The Little Runaway

**Ch. 1: The Little Runaway**

_I only own Kara and her family_.

Kara Daniels's legs wobbled and her head spun. Knowing that she could go no further, the ten-year-old slipped into the nearest alley and slumped against the wall. She wasn't sure where she was, but she knew one thing: no one in this city would recognize her.  
Kara shivered, her bare arms prickling with goose bumps. Because she'd had nothing to eat in the past two days, feelings of nausea swept over her, which didn't help her fevered mind in the slightest. Wrapping her ripped coat around her as tightly as possible, the little girl closed her eyes and reflected on the past events.  
One week. It was unbelievable that merely one week ago, she'd been a happy person. She had turned ten a month ago and had lived in a pleasant little suburb with her mother, Lily. Kara's father Nathanial had died before she was born, so Kara had never known a father. Her mother's family had more or less disowned their daughter due to their disapproval of Nathaniel, so all Kara knew of family was her mother. But now, her mother was gone.  
Lily had worked in a fertility clinic and had dropped dead of a brain aneurism just before lunch exactly seven days ago. Since then, Kara's grandparents had come to stay at the Daniels's house in order to make the funeral arrangements and settle any lasting affairs. They would also become Kara's legal guardians and that had been enough for the ten-year-old.  
Knowing that she'd be doomed to a life of neglect and possible emotional abuse (her grandparents had made it clear that they did not like her), Kara had packed a small backpack and run away. That had been five days ago. Now, she was lost in an unknown city with no food, no money, and no idea of where she was going.  
Kara's head pounded and she slid to the grimy ground. Curled up and shivering, Kara didn't hear the footsteps. She only noticed the men when they laughed.  
"Well, well, look at this. A girl who's already down for the count." Before she could move, a heavy hand pushed down on her chest and she was powerless. Her vision swam and she felt even more nauseous, but before the men could make another move, the extra weight was jerked off her and the last thing she heard before she passed out was high maniacal laughter.

The Joker merely grinned as he watched the pathetic little gang trying to regain what little wits they had. He had been out for a stroll, wondering what excitement the night would bring him when he had seen the three men in the alley. He had assumed that they were about to take advantage of some poor woman and had stepped in to intervene. Not because he cared about the victim, but because there was nothing funny about rape; honestly, if both parties involved in the act weren't enjoying themselves, sex was pointless.  
"You boys so desperate you need a passed-out old broad to have some fun?" The Joker took a few steps forward, watching with delight as they yowled in pain and tried to extract the razor-sharp cards from their bodies. Glancing down at the huddled figure, the Joker shook his head pityingly. Whoever the woman was, she probably didn't have much to offer.  
By accident, the heel of his shoe brushed the brown coat the figure was wrapped up in and for once, the sight shocked the Joker speechless. For a moment, he merely gaped. Then, he rounded on the three thugs, pure venom in his voice.  
"This isn't a woman, boys. This is a little girl! You sick, perverted freaks! Have you no class?" The gang, still in pain and terrified at the sight of the Clown Prince of Crime could only whimper. Still fuming, the Joker reached into one of his may pockets and pulled out a tiny knife. He waved it in front of the leader's face.  
"This look like it'll kill ya?" Shocked into honesty, the man shook his head.  
"Well, you're wrong! It's poisoned!" Laughing, the Joker slashed at the thug's cheek. Immediately, he fell to the ground, convulsing madly. Within two minutes, he was still, an insane grin upon his face. Before the other two could shriek for help, the Joker was upon them. Soon, they too were dead, their faces forever locked in crazy smiles.  
Satisfied, the Joker knelt down next to the girl. She really was very small and quite thin and dirty. A runaway, obviously, but where from? The Joker studied her carefully, brushing back her dark red hair and placing his inner arm against her forehead. Feverish. He'd thought so.  
A figure rose up in the Joker's mind. A beautiful dark-haired woman with a dazzling smile running her heads over her slowly growing stomach, mouth curved in a blissful smile. Shaking his head to clear his mind, the Joker glanced back down at the little girl.  
"Looks like you're stuck with me, kid," he whispered. Gathering the girl up, he held her tightly against his chest. She nestled close to him, one small hand closing on the lapel of his jacket. The Joker smiled; guess that meant she liked him. It was nice to feel liked.  
With his precious bundle, the Joker stepped out of the alley and walked into the night, grinning happily. Life was about to get even more interesting.


	2. The Joker

**Ch. 2: The Joker**

Kara stirred slowly, feeling something soft beneath her. Blinking her green eyes, the little girl realized that she was in what looked like an office room, lying on a couch and staring at the florescent lights overhead. A small blanket had been draped over her and there was cool damp cloth on her forehead. She felt a little less feverish, but still very hungry and weak. She started to sit up and heard a voice nearby.

"Oh, good, you're awake." The voice belonged to a man, but it was high-pitched and tinged with laughter. Kara looked to her right and was confronted by the strangest man she'd ever seen sitting on a backwards chair. Tall and lithe, he had bleached-white skin, dark green hair, and blood-red lips, which were curved in a wide grin. He was garbed in a purple coat and pants, an orange shirt, a blue bow tie, white gloves, and shiny black shoes. "And just how are you feeling?"

"Better, thank you," Kara answered before stopping to think that speaking could be dangerous in the presence of such a strange man. However, the man's grin merely widened as he stood up and approached her.

"Good, good. Now then, I, as you know, am the one and only Joker, so who might you be?"

Kara's mind whirled. As she was not a native of Gotham City, the day-to-day events of the city were a mystery to her. However, the Joker had made such a name for himself, she and all her friends, young as they were, knew all about the Clown Prince of Crime. Once again, though, the good manners taught to her by her late mother, helped her speak despite her fear.

"I'm Kara Daniels," she answered softly, her green eyes wide. The Joker frowned and cocked his head.

"Kara Daniels? The granddaughter of those rich idiots who've been yakking to the papers nonstop about their dead daughter?" Kara nodded, knowing all too well what the Joker was talking about. Charles and Helen Gavins, being major socialites, had given several interviews concerning the death of their daughter and their disapproval of Nathanial, which had played a huge part in convincing Kara to run away. The Joker shook his head.

"Why, you poor thing. How dreadful that you'd have to live with people like that." He grinned knowingly at her. "I'm guessing they're the reason you ran away."

"Yes." The Joker threw back his head and laughed.

"For such a little thing, you've got guts. I like that." He reached out and gently patted Kara's cheek. "Well, no matter. You'll be happy here."

"You mean I can stay?" Despite the awesome reputation of the Joker, Kara understood that it was he who saved her in the ally and because of that, felt safe with him. She smiled shyly and the Joker chuckled.

"Glad to see that you agree, Kara. Now then, let's set about getting you some hot food and clean clothing, shall we? Think your stomach can handle some beef stew, even if it's reheated?"

"Yes please!" Kara agreed enthusiastically.

"Wonderful. Come on and we'll eat together." The Joker held out his gloved hand and Kara took it, her fear evaporating. She knew the Joker was a bad guy, but if he was going to be nice to her when her own family was mean, she would think of him as the best person in the world.

_And don't worry, Harley will appear in the next chapter. Curious as to how she'll react? I think the Joker will tell her what she wants to hear, don't you?_


	3. Harley

**Ch. 3: Harley**

"So, Mistah J, what's this big surprise ya got for me?" Harley asked, tugging on the Joker's purple-clad arm. She had been helping Poison Ivy take down (aka destroy) a corrupt nursery over the past few days and had just now gotten back.

"Well, Harley, I know how much you'd like a sign of hoe _committed _to you I am, so-"

"You got me a ring?" Harley squealed excitedly.

"No, Harley. I got you something even more, shall we say, _binding_ than a ring," the Joker replied, leading her down the hall to a small room. Pushing open the door a bit, the Joker allowed Harley to pear inside.A little girl in a sleeveless yellow dress and pink sandals was lying on her stomach doing a puzzle on the floor. Her shoulder-length red hair was freshly washed and the room was well-heated, allowing her to remain in her summer-like garb despite the howling November wind outside.

"Oh, Mistah J!" Harley breathed, turning back to her puddin'. "Is she gonna be ours? Am I gonna be her mommy?"

"_Step_-mother, Harley."

"Step-mother?" Harley asked, her face falling slightly.

"Yes. You see, Kara- and that's Kara with a 'k,' by the way- has only known a mother. Her real dad died before she was born and that's where I come in. And since you're my girl, that makes you her step-mom."

Harley glanced back at Kara, who had not noticed the pair. The Joker gave his girl a little nudge."Well, go on in and bond with her, Harley." With that, he strode back down the hall, muttering,"Got a family to support now. Where're my men? I need…"Harley watched him leave and then pushed the door open all the way. Kara glanced up, her green eyes locking onto Harley with interest."Are you Harley?" she asked in her clear little-girl voice."I sure am." Harley replied, kneeling down next to her. "Want some help with that?" she asked, pointing to the puzzle."Yeah! This puzzle's hard." Kara grinned at Harley and suddenly, Harley felt that being a step-mom wouldn't be too bad at all.

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Harley and Kara spent the next two hours putting the puzzle- a black background with squiggly designs f all colors- together. Both quickly developed a liking for each other and Harley was quickly beginning to think of Kara as "our daughter" in regards to the Joker. Kara herself felt at ease around Harley and while she didn't think of Harley was a mom-figure (yet, anyway), she was certainly glad to have the other woman around.

"Where'd the Joker go?" Kara eventually asked, as they finished up the last of the tricky pieces.

"I dunno. He tends to run off at times, but never for long. Unless that stupid Batman catches him, of course."

"Batman? He can't find us, can he?" Kara asked, suddenly worried. She had a pretty good idea of what would happen to her if she was found by the so-called hero Batman.

"Don't worry about Batman, sweetie, he's not comin' near you. Me an' Mistah J'll see at that."

"That's good," Kara replied, snapping in the last puzzle piece. "There. Done.""And just in time, too. Wanna help me feed Bud and Lou?"

"Who're they?"

"They're our pets. They'll need to get used to you, so you should probably stay near me or Mistah J for a while, but they'll love ya soon enough. We feed them bones and raw meat that we keep in a special little fridge for them. After that, we'll see what your da- I mean, Mistah J has planned." Kara didn't seem to notice the slip in Harley's words and followed the older woman obediently. Harley herself was very pleased; she found she liked having a step-daughter with the Joker.


End file.
